Please join us in praying urgently for the Coptic Christians of Cairo, following a bomb attack in the Coptic cathedral complex yesterday morning.

At least 25 are dead and many more wounded, including women and children. The bomb exploded at 10am on Sunday 11th in the Church of St Peter, a time when many people were attending church.

Both Christians and Muslims have gathered to denounce the attack. Egypt's Ahram Online reported the scene in Cairo after the violence:

"Hundreds of Muslim and Coptic protesters gathered at the cathedral, chanting against the attack on the church in a show of both anger and unity... Hospitals where the injured are being treated, including Dar El-Shefaa and Ain Shams University Hospital, have called for blood donations, while calls on social media for people to donate have gone viral."

Egypt's President, Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, has also denounced the attack and has declared a three-day period of national mourning.

One of our contacts in Cairo, an Egyptian Christian, has asked us to pray for them:

Prayer is what is needed now. People are confused, hurt and upset and the situation is really messy. I would particularly ask you to pray for the ability of Christians to love and forgive in the middle of this hurt, so that the heart of Christ - who forgave those who crucified Him - would be seen and touched. It is very difficult right now, but please pray that this will be possible. Our nation needs to touch the heart of Christ and such painful times are priceless opportunities for that.

Here are some more ways Egyptian Christians have asked us to pray, via Middle East Concern:

a. for God's comfort for those who lost loved ones and for full recovery of the injuredb. for comfort and encouragement for the wider Christian community and God's protection over his church in Egypt and other targets of these attacksc. that the perpetrators of these violent attacks will be found and brought to justice.

Thank you so much for your prayers for Egypt's Christians. You can find out more about the story here.